Sybil Ione McLaughlin (24 August 1928 – 10 May 2022) was a
Caymanian politician who became the first
Speaker of the
Legislative Assembly of the Cayman Islands
The Parliament of the Cayman Islands is the unicameral legislature of the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands. It is composed of 21 members; 19 elected members for a four-year term and two members ''ex officio''.
The Governor may a ...
. She was declared a National Hero in 1996.
McLaughlin was born in
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
in 1928.
In 1945 she started working for the Cayman Islands government and when they received a constitution she was made the clerk. During her career her expertise was used at other parliaments. She worked at the
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England.
The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 me ...
,
Stormont House and in the offices of the governments of
Grenada
Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...
and that of
Trinidad and Tobago.
In February 1991 she became the first Speaker of the Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly.
[Speakers]
Cayman Islands Government, Retrieved 12 February 2016
In 1996 she retired from being Speaker and she was made a National
Hero of the Cayman Islands. This is the Cayman Islands' highest honour and it was awarded because of her contribution to parliament and to the community in general.
[ Hon. Mrs. Sybil Ione McLaughlin, MBE, JP]
Cayman Islands Government, Retrieved 12 February 2016
On 10 May 2022 she passed away at her home in
South Sound. McLaughlin
lay in state in the House of Parliament in the Cayman Islands on 19 May and her funeral was attended the following day.
References
1928 births
2022 deaths
Politicians from Mobile, Alabama
Caymanian women in politics
American emigrants to the Cayman Islands
Members of the Parliament of the Cayman Islands
20th-century British women politicians
Members of the Order of the British Empire
National Heroes of the Cayman Islands
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